Wait

After the resurrection, I was wondering what the disciples must have been feeling before Christ appeared to each of them.  Of course, they had been discouraged, feeling rather hopeless when Christ was crucified.  It seemed the end of a dream.  There was no way they could fully comprehend what Jesus had taught them and told them to expect.  But, then He appeared to several of them and the sparks of hope were fanned into flames.  Now, Lord, will you establish your kingdom?  Give us our orders, Lord.  What's next?  Jesus' response didn't do much to support their enthusiasm.  Wait.  What?  Wait.

Jeanette Bakke, in her book, "Holy Invitations," cites several factors that can influence discernment.  One that I find particularly troubling is having the "willingness to accept an answer of wait."  She writes:  "It is difficult to wait for God and difficult to wait with integrity for our own process of development.  We may be tempted to settle for what is at hand or force an alternative rather than wait when life as we have known it begins to unravel or we are in transition."

When we fail to wait for the Lord, when we get too far ahead of Him, we are doomed to failure.  Bakke warns us of thinking that we have enough of an idea of what God is trying to accomplish and taking over as opposed to continuing to follow the Holy Spirit's lead.  She states, "unless we ask God to help us set priorities, order our lives, and guide us moment by moment, how can we hope for our actions to grow from God's intentions rather than from seemingly good ideas of our own?"

We need to remember that He who began a good work in us, will be faithful to complete it.  There may be times when it seems God is taking a break, when He seems to have relaxed and we are in danger of missing a deadline, when it appears that our plans are about to fail, when what we had hoped for isn't going to happen, but God is never too late, He is always on time.

"Wait for the gift my Father promised," Jesus told them.  What was that gift, none other than the power of the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit which enabled Christ to perform miracles, that raised Christ from the dead, that empowered the disciples to build the church, that works in you and me today.  We must wait until that Spirit leads us, trust that God has a plan, one that we need to follow.

Godspeed, Phil

Power to Change

What are you afraid of?  I'm not afraid of anything.  Ha!  Just kidding. I don't think there is a person on earth that isn't afraid of something.  There are numerous listings of fears if you want to do the search on the web.  One of my favorites is hexakosioihexikontahexiphobia, the fear of the number 666.  Weird.  One fear I think we all have in common is metathesiophobia, the fear of change.  Yes, there is a word for it.  There are similar fears--neophobia--the fear of the new; cainophobia--the fear of newness; allagiphobia--the fear of things getting worse.  All describe the same thing to a certain extent.

I have a patient I have worked with for almost a year that won't change.  Some might say "can't," but, I believe anyone can change.  Christian psychiatrists, Minirth & Meier, wrote a book entitled, "Happiness is a Choice."  Well, change is a choice as well.  Why won't my patient change?  A good friend of mine is a recovering alcoholic.  In 12-step programs, they like to say a person has to hit bottom before they decide to change.  His response to that is, "You can put down the shovel anytime."  What he is saying is a person has to get to the place where they want to change.  That is their bottom.  They have to want the change.  However, they have to want to so bad, they are willing to confront their fear of change.

The other day, I asked this patient what he was afraid of, why he wouldn't change.  Each time he gave me an answer, I asked him again, "What are you afraid of?"  Though it seemed redundant, the point I was trying to make was that, ultimately, we choose not to change because we allow our fears to dominate our thinking.  We give in to them without challenging them and asking ourselves, "What am I really afraid of anyway?"

Paul told Timothy, "The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid (fearful), but gives us power, love,  and self-discipline (II Tim. 1:7)."  Our fears are not of God, they are man-made.  Change can happen because God has given us the power we need to make that change.  We have to decide it is a priority, that we really do want to change, and that we are willing to confront whatever it is we are afraid of in order for that change to occur.  We don't have to do this alone.  We can listen to the Holy Spirit whose role it is to convict us of what needs to change in us.  Then, He will make it all possible.

Name your fear.  Ask yourself if you are really ready to change.  Ask yourself what you are afraid of, and ask that same question each time you give an answer, until you get to the place you realize there really is nothing to fear.  I find it helpful to pray this prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."--Reinhold Niebuhr

 

More Lessons from the Elliptical

Have you ever been to the gym and witnessed a guy bench-pressing about 500 lbs., but weighing almost as much?  Okay, I may have exaggerated somewhat.  But, while these guys are building massive muscles from the navel up, their midsection hasn't been properly trained.  While I haven't lost a lot of weight, I have learned a few things while exercising on my elliptical.  If I want to lose weight, I have to control my eating as well.  Physical exercise just isn't enough.  Okay, so this isn't rocket science, it is a fitting analogy to our growing in spiritual discernment.

Apparently, Timothy was spending too much time in the gym and Paul had to tell him to back off.  He wrote this, "Train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (I Tim. 4:7-8)."  How does this apply to us and to discernment?

I recently was feeling a form of spiritual dryness.  What could be wrong?  I was reading the Scriptures faithfully, fasting regularly, reading other Christian literature, hanging out with other Christians, and serving. What was missing?  I wasn't making time to be alone with God and my prayer life was growing stale as a result.  Even when I was spending time with God and praying, I was too tired and had difficulty focusing, because I was getting up faithfully and exercising.  I was physically wearing myself out and it was affecting my ability to be discerning.

It is frustrating because I am continually telling others how important it is to avoid being distracted, and here I was again, finding myself focusing on something other than God.  I had often appreciated working out before my devotional time, because it made me more alert when I did spend that time with the Lord.  However, it had become the end instead of the means.

Jeanette Bakke, in her book, "Holy Invitations," writes, "When good actions such as worship, Bible study, or service are detached from our prayer, they can become dead.  We have many ideas about how to continue what God has begun in us and can easily slip into taking charge of our spiritual nurture and development instead of seeking the Holy Spirit's way...unless we ask God to help us set priorities, order our lives, and guide us moment by moment, how can we hope for our actions to grow from God's intentions rather than from seemingly good ideas of our own?"

Godspeed, Phil

Get Fit!

In an effort to get into better shape, I started using an elliptical about a month ago.  The piece of equipment that I use has settings on it for what you want to get out of it.  There are a number of decisions to make that I find strangely similar to the decisions we need to make about our spiritual fitness.

There is, first of all, the decision whether to do things my own way or choose one of the fitness programs available--Toning, Endurance, or Fitness.  I think most of us know how difficult it is to get into shape doing it on our own.  That is true in the development of our faith as well.  It helps to use a program, a Bible study, a devotional guide, a reading plan, or something.  Otherwise, we make very little progress and give up as soon as there is something more alluring to do with our time.

So, I chose a program.  Now, I think I am ready for the Performance setting.  So, I dial that up, only to find out that it involves the highest settings on levels of resistance, speed, and inclination.  It's also 30 minutes long and I don't plan to spend that much time, so I look at the other options.  I probably need to work on endurance, so I choose that.  I quickly find out I don't have what it takes to endure.  Apparently, I need to focus on toning.

Often, in my faith walk, I find myself focusing most of my attention on performing.  Recently, I have been developing a new ministry and been quite anxious to start offering the ministry; only to find God calling me back to toning.  When we are called, sometimes God has to work on us to prepare us to be the instruments He is able to use, to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.

We shouldn't get in too big a hurry to start performing, whether that be performing a ministry, starting a new program, or preaching a sermon.  The majority of our time needs to be devoted to allowing God to tone our spiritual muscles, to get us into shape for what He has in mind for us to do.  The actual performance may only be a small portion of what we actually do.  But, if we want it to accomplish God's purpose, we have to allow Him this opportunity to do what He does best.

"...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13)."

Godspeed, Phil, just another doulos

False gods

False teeth.  False eyelashes.  False...you get the idea.  What do they all have in common?  The most simple answer is that they aren't real.  What about false advertising?  Why do we get so riled up when we watch commercials that promise something, you know couldn't possibly be true?  There are laws against that sort of thing, right?  How do they get away with it?  They get away with it because there is just enough truth in what they are offering, that it isn't really false.  It isn't really true either.

Nobody likes to be lied to or deceived.  We would like to believe that we wouldn't fall for that sort of thing in the first place, right?  But, don't we deceive ourselves every day?  The things that we turn to, coffee, snacks,energy drinks, cigarettes, alcohol, new clothes, new car, are all intended to give us something we think we need.  But, are they for real?  Do they actually meet a need?

We are told not to love the things of this world or the things in this world, "For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world (I John 2:15-16)."  In other words, they aren't real.  It is just false advertising.

The problem with the things of this world is they sometimes take a place that is intended for God to occupy, a place in your heart that is meant for Him and Him alone.  We become attached to these things and rely on them for something that can only come from the Father.  As in most relationships, if we allow something else to take away our attention, our energies, our affections, then our relationship will suffer.  God wants our love.  He wants to be first in our lives.  For real.  In order for that to take place, we may have to let go of our other attachments, the things of this world that we love, to create space in our hearts for this to  occur.

"No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other; or, he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matt. 6:24)."  God's love is the real thing.

Godspeed, Phil
 

Irrevocable

"Nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord...may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord (Lev. 27:28)."

A footnote at the bottom of my Bible notes, "The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord."  In other words, there are no take-backs.  Once you have given something to the Lord, it belongs to Him.

Has it ever occurred to you that when you do your devotions, you are irrevocably giving yourself over to the Lord?  I don't think that is typically what comes to mind.  I sometimes think we are more devoted to our favorite sports team, to our work, or to our spouses, than we are to the Lord.  I recall in my younger days, Olivia Newton-John singing a song with the lyrics, "hopelessly devoted to you."  That may be what you wrote on that Valentine's Day card you gave your wife, but is that the song in your heart when you spend your quiet time with the Lord?  Is that the level of commitment that you intend when you give Him the day and pray for His will to be done?

The motivation for doing so is that whatever we devote to the Lord becomes holy.  While in our hands, it had some purpose, upon giving it to the Lord it took on a greater significance.  It is now useful for His purpose.  It can be used for the furthering of His Kingdom.  It has become sanctified, made holy.

What is it that you are praying for?  If you are praying for yourself, then the Holy Spirit sanctifies you, and makes you holy before the Lord.  If you pray for your wife, Paul says that she is sanctified by your prayers (I Cor. 7:24).  Your children, too, are sanctified, made holy and useful for God's purpose, when you give them over to Him.

However, the greater challenge is not to want to take back what we have committed to the Lord.  It is tempting to do so.  We don't always agree with the way the Lord is managing those areas or those things that we have given to Him.  We cannot give to the Lord and have an agenda.  When we give, that devoted thing or area of our life is now irrevocably His and we must trust that He will make the best use of it.

Godspeed, Phil

Purge!

One thing I have been convicted of recently, and for some time now, is the need to purge.  No, I am not bulimic, though some might question that when they see me eat.  I do love to eat.  God has been trying to get my attention to let me know there are some things yet in my life, that He did not put there, and they are in the way of what He is trying to accomplish.  These are things that He wants me to purge from my life, thereby creating space for Him to do more through me.

I have been pretty stubborn about the whole thing, kind of like Saul who was "unwilling to completely destroy" some of the "good" things taken from the Amalekites, as he had been directed to by God (I Sm. 12:20-22).  I have argued the same way with God.  The things that He has been wanting me to let go were things that had some value, at least to me.

I have counseled a few hoarders, people whose homes and lives have become so cluttered, their homes are no longer safe places for them to live.  The difficulty, for them, is that everything they have hoarded has some value.  They are difficult to help because their way of valuing things is unlike anyone else's; so that, when others try to get them to remove things from their homes, they can't agree on what to get rid of first.

We, too, are at risk in terms of our spiritual lives by our own hoarding, by hanging onto things that may have some value to us, but, interfere with the plan God has for us and our ministries.  Using the opportunity provided by the season of Lent, Ruth Haley Barton challenges us on her website, to return to God with all our hearts.  She cites the example of Christ who was tempted in the wilderness to "trust in that which is not God for security and survival, affirmation and approval, power and control."

Typically, when we are hanging onto something that is not of God, it is because it appears to us to have some value.  However, if God is saying to let it go, it is time to let it go!

Godspeed, Phil